Self & Society: British Lit @Hood College

Original...  They daunce and pleyen at dees bothe day and nyght, And eten also and drynken over hir myght, Thurgh which they doon the devel sacrifise Withinne that develes temple in cursed wise By superfluytee abhomynable.                  lines: 467-471 Translation... They dance and play at dice both day and night,   And also eat and drink beyond their capacity, Through which they do the devil sacrifice Within that devil's temple in cursed manner By abominable excess.

"Now, sires," quod he, "if that yow be so leef To finde Deeth, turne up this croked wey, For in that grove I lafte him, by my fey, Under a tree, and there he wol abyde: Nat for youre boost he wole him nothing hyde." (760-764) Scene from Tim Burtan's "Sleepy Hollow"  Image from the Sleepy Hollow (film) Wikipedia page

"Ne Deeth, allas! ne wol nat han my lyf. Thus walke I, lyk a restelees caityf, And on the ground, which is my modres gate, I knokke with my staf bothe erly and late, And seye, 'Leve moder, leet me in! Lo, how I vanish, flesh, and blood, and skin! Allas! whan shul my bones been at reste?'" -The Pardoner's Tale, lines 727-733 More and more am I changing my thought that the old man is Death to he's an Ankou - a henchman of Death, who is (according to different sources) either the first or last person to die of the year and wanders around collecting souls before he can pass on.

"Youre lyking is that I shall telle a tale. Now have I dronke a draughte of corny ale" Lines 455-456

The Black Adder episode 3 "The Archbishop" scene in link. Edmund and his cronies discussing "how to make a bit of money off this church thing"/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyF7YmHYhYc 920       I have relikes and pardon in my male              As faire as any man in Engelond              Whiche were me yeven by the Popes Hond             -the Pardoner's Tale, lines 920-922

The Pardoner's tale comes off as very religious. What caught my attention was when he said "Radix malorum est Cupiditas" (greed is the root of all evil) quoting the scripture 1 Timothy 6:10. He is a hypocrite because he admits to preaching for money. In todays time greed has become a big problem and many people think its the most important thing to have. This made me think of the saying "practice what you preach" and it shows that the Pardoner isn't doing that at all. I also wonder how many people are like this is the world today, especially pastors or ministers. https://www.google.com/search?q=money+hungry&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinlNi80NLWAhVqCZoKHawECGMQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=964#imgrc=BAoTNPIpt6NTtM:&spf=1506971009986

In the pardoners tale,  the tale is seen as a riddle to me. He discusses 3 rioters that try to kill death. This in itself is very stupid to me and amusing. I already know where this is going. You can't kill death. And then an old man directs them to under an old oak tree and say that's where they can fund death. If I were one of them I wouldn't take another step. This is obviously their demise. And death is 8 bushels of gold coins. This gives off the warning of greed and nothing is prospered but death. It's proven when 2 of them plot to kill their fellow companion. Lesson learned there are no friends where greed is present.

I found the Pardoner a very interesting character. Again, I believe Chaucer writes about many different types of charterers to emphasize the diversity of people traveling  on the pilgrimage. One may have a set idea, as to maybe the type of person who would be going on a pilgrimage, but Chaucer defies those typical people. The Pardoner appears to be a hypocrite. As he is a preacher, I would expect him to be a good person and do respectable actions. Instead  he is the total opposite.The Pardoner does not try to hide who he is which I find very interesting. He is very open about why he preaches. Later in his tale, he states that gluttony,drunkedness,gambling and swearing are what makes people evil. The Pardoner talks about these specific "sins".Does he think what he is doing is right? Is he aware that he also is committing sins as well?

Hogges Tord https://englishtutorbournemouth.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/the-pardoner.jpg This whole passage reminded me of something that young people, like me, sometimes do on the internet where they try to outwit a person of faith and make them look stupid and foolish for believing in what they believe. They allow the person of faith to speak and explain themselves and then try to come back with a quick witted jab that will destroy the foundation of the person of faith's argument but really only attacks their cause and makes it look like less than what it is. This can be seen when the Host makes jokes about the Pardoner's request to "kisse the reliks everichon" (line 944). He worries about the tread marks and would rather take the Saint's testicles and "shryned [them] in an hogges tord!" (line 955). As you can see, he doesn't take the Pardoner's request seriously and makes him the laughing stock of the tavern.

The Pardoner explains that he is a hypocritical preacher and a con artist in his prologue and then goes on to tell a tale about sins. He identifies greed, gluttony, drunkenness, gambling and swearing. The story he tells is of three Flemish youngsters who learn that their friend was taken by Death and decide, in a drunken stupor, to go after Death and kill him. An old man points them in the direction of a tree where they find a bounty of coins. They send the third one off to fetch wine and bread so that they can sneak the gold in at night time. Both the two boys and the third plot to kill each other and all are successful; death takes each of them. This story reminded me of the Deathly Hallows story from Harry Potter, or at least that is the way I imagined the story looking in my mind. The Pardoner's version is more about how greed is the greatest sin, but he tells the pilgrimage that he sells fake relics and concludes his story by trying to sell them to the Host and accusing him o...

The Pardoner’s Tale Prologue introduces us to an unscrupulous representative of the Church who openly accepts “donations” from “sinners” in exchange for absolution with signed papal indulgences, and sells phony relics supposedly from saints, such as animal bones, to ward off the devil. He admits to his fellow travelers that these relics are in fact fake and the church papers not always legitimate. With a sermon that never varies, expounding on the evils of greed and covetousness, vices he himself practices, he admits to his companions that his only motivation is personal monetary gain. “My theme is alwey oon, and evere was—             Radix malorum est Cupiditas”. (333--334) He tells his tale of three young Dutchman who drink and revel. He goes into a rant into various vices: gluttony, drunkenness, gambling, and swearing, which he denounces as a graver sin than homicide. He then returns to the tale of the Dutchman. They hear that a friend was ...